Archive | Technology

If you’re a university student in 2018, chances are you never really knew a life where smartphones weren’t necessary. Our entire lives are on our phones, and if we ever forget to bring it out with us, we feel naked. The unfortunate thing is that they are incredibly expensive – especially if they need to be replaced every few years. So as a student trying to pay your way through school, you need to find the balance between a great smartphone and a great price.

Enter Google Pixel 3.

Aside from a sleek design, the best part about this phone has got to be the camera – whether you’re outside during golden hour or in a dimly lit restaurant, you can be confident your photos will be of great quality. For the price you’re paying, you will get all the connectivity, apps, storage and speed you’re looking for, and in the age of Instagram and social media, having a better camera than competitors is nothing to shy away from!

Pros:

The camera – great quality photos, no matter the light

Water resistant – because we all need a little safety net

Wireless charging – say goodbye to sitting on the floor next to your outlet!

Cons:

No headphone jack (am I the only one disappointed by this trend?)

If you need more memory than 64GB, you’ll have to buy a new phone (or delete some selfies)

Overall, the Google Pixel 3 has very few cons, and with a price a couple of hundred dollars lower than competitors, it’s the perfect fit for students!

Ok, maybe it’s not the same as a personal chef, but let’s face it, an item that can heat up food while we sit on the couch is a win.

Amazon has just introduced its AmazonBasics Alexa-powered microwave, letting you tell Alexa to start heating things up. Even the installation (if you can call it that) is easy, provided you have the Amazon Echo already set up (it is required for the microwave to respond to voice commands). Just plug in, connect to the app, and away you go!

You’ll have the option to activate the microwave the same way you do with Echo, by saying “Alexa”, or you can hit the “Ask Alexa” button on your microwave and proceed with your instructions. Voice presets will help eliminate the need for you to know how much cooking time is required. For example, you can tell Alexa to cook a potato, defrost peas, or reheat a cup of coffee. It’s practically magic.

Can’t get enough of stay-in movie nights? If you so choose, you can sign up to automatically reorder popcorn. Alexa will keep track of how many times you use the Popcorn button or voice command, and reorder popcorn for you when it knows you’re running low.

For those of us that aren’t quite ready to embrace voice technology, the microwave still has the “old-fashioned” keypad.

For the affordable price, the compact size, and the ease of use, this microwave is perfect for your dorm room!

20 years ago, our parents had stacks of photo albums with everything from our birthday parties to trips to the zoo, to pool parties and holidays. Now, smartphones have taken away that printed photo in favour of digital ones we can swipe through. But there’s something about a tangible memory – somehow, it leaves more of an impact.

The Fujifilm Instax Square SQ6 camera can help give you that physical memento, but with a digital flair. All those filters and editing features we love so much about apps and smartphones are also included right in this camera, so when you print your polaroid, you’re looking your best.

This camera is so easy to use and really has nothing you don’t need. It’s a simple way to bring some nostalgia into your life and doesn’t claim to be anything more. Competitors do have more features, but it depends what you’ll be using the camera for. For a fun day out with friends where you’re just looking to print a photo for your fridge, this camera is perfect. You may need to wait a minute or so for your polaroid to print (that might feel like forever!) but this makes a great gift for your significant other or best friend and will really encourage you to get out and explore!

When you’re grinding through those hefty assignments, having a pump-up playlist in the background can make all the difference in keeping you going. With hundreds of bluetooth speakers to choose from, a student-sized budget can really narrow down the options. However, not all inexpensive speakers are poor in quality!

The best, most affordable bluetooth speaker we’ve come across is the DOSS SoundBox Touch, which comes in at a delightful $28.99 and comes in four colours – blue, red, white, and black. It boasts a high-def, 360 degree stereo sound and fingertip controls and up to 12 hours playtime for your all-nighters (though you should expect 9 to 10 hours). It’s sleek and attractive, and both looks and sounds more expensive than it is – which is always a plus!

You’ll only need to connect your phone to the speaker once; from then on, the speaker will automatically connect to the last used device.

Keep in mind this speaker isn’t water-resistant, so you may want to refrain from using it for pool parties, but the sound is loud enough that you’ll be able to add a soundtrack to your sunny days in the park.

Overall, it’s hard to find cons for this device – for the price, the quality is superb!

Most employers can’t keep up with changing technology as easily as their workforce can, so adopting a “bring your own device” policy is common for businesses these days. It allows employees to do work on their own laptops, tablets, and smartphones instead of company-issued equipment.

The widespread adoption of BYOD (bring your own device) to work has changed the nature of how connected we are — or are expected to be — in an office setting.

As our availability shifts, so do expectations that we should be more connected to work 24-7. Employees don’t even seem to mind this as they’d rather use their own devices for business purposes than unfamiliar work-issued equipment. Why? Here are five reasons.

Work & Play

The line between work life and personal life can be pretty blurry sometimes. Whether we like it or not, our smartphones connect us to both personal and professional endeavors. Many of us embrace the blurriness because it’s all part of “life,” and we tend to spend most of our waking hours on work related stuff anyway, whether at home or in an office. But it can be intrusive if you let it, which is why striking a balance may be necessary. Versatile business devices, for example, separate business apps from personal apps so you can use your device for both work and play. It beats having two separate phones.

“Considering 20 percent of the 1,500 job seekers surveyed by FlexJobs last year would take a cut in pay for more flexible work options, the BYOD trend is necessary to creating more work-life balance,” states an article on Entrepreneur’s site. “Not to mention, working from devices that employees are already familiar and comfortable with can help them complete tasks quickly and efficiently.”

Efficiency Queens & Kings

Instead of learning how to use computers or technology you’re not familiar with, it’s easier to stick with what you know as it saves time. When companies allow you to use your own mobile device, they are basically letting you choose the tool you see most useful to get the job done. Just imagine if a painter couldn’t pick his own brushes or if a mechanic couldn’t use her own tools. Similar philosophy, right?

Keep the Talent

Millennials and creative types especially like flexibility in the workplace because they often work outside of the 9-to-5 office paradigm. BYOD is a good recruitment and retention tool as many tech-savvy workers see their personal devices as an employee benefit. They can work either in the office or at home on the weekends and evenings with more fluidity than switching between devices. BYOD is particularly important for tech-heavy jobs like graphic design, UX design and programming because different operating systems support different products.

Expanded job titles

Speaking of creative types, our super mobile society has widened the job possibilities endlessly. In the marketing field in particular, technology is transforming the old marketing landscape with new career opportunities in a huge range of content channels. If you’re in marketing, you could actually help companies look at gaps in the their marketing plans and offer skills that will help a potential new employer step up their game and separate themselves from the competition.

Morale Booster

Even though the employee is usually the one who ends up paying to use their own equipment, which doesn’t seem that enticing on the surface, there’s still a sense of freedom or independence associated with being able to use your own device. Sometimes it’s the simple things that encourage employees to stay with a company, especially if the employer actually pays for the device of your choice.

Is your phone cable holding you hostage? Feel like you can’t go anywhere without towing three chargers in your bag?

Wireless charging is the latest advancement in technology (even though it’s been around for decades). Now that companies have figured out how to use it for our many devices (even for our cars), we can expect to see a lot more of it. The iPhone 8 and iPhone X both have wireless charging capabilities – but what does that mean? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons:

PROS

Less wear on your cables – and your devices

Using a wireless charging pad means you don’t actually need to plug your devices in anymore. No more dragging around cables or risking electrical shorts on your devices from constant plugging and unplugging. Your cables – and your devices – shouldn’t wear out as quickly.

Multiple device charging and integration

Now you can throw all your devices on one charging pad! No need to find multiple outlets, or carry around different cables and charging devices for your smartphone, smartwatch, and rechargeable batteries. Provided your device has wireless charging capabilities, it should work with any charging pad.

CONS

Inefficiency means energy is wasted and it takes longer to charge

Wireless charging isn’t the most energy efficient technology. Up to 20% of the power needed to charge your phone is wasted. It seems that this issue goes away with the wireless charging of larger devices like cars. Many people use a charging pad if they want to charge their device overnight, and use a wall charger if they need a quick boost.

Price

Wireless charging pads aren’t yet mainstream, which means they’ll cost you more than regular cables. Depending on the brand and features, pads could cost anywhere from $20 to $120 CAD.

Can’t move your phone

Probably the biggest con is the inability to move your phone while it charges. With cables, you could pick up your phone and move it as far as the cord would allow, and it would barely impede your ability to scroll and text. However, with a charging pad, your phone needs to stay flat, making it harder to type.

Wait, what? Two new iPhones launch at the same time? Why? What’s the difference?

Let’s talk about it.

Design

The screen: The iPhone X (pronounced “ten”) has a screen that goes right to the edges, with a small portion that dips down a bit at the top – this houses the front-facing camera and sensors.

The back: Both new iPhones have glass backs. Are they durable? We’ll have to see.

The home button: Now here’s a point of contention. The home button remains the same on the iPhone 8, however, when it comes to the iPhone X – say goodbye to the home button and hello to Face ID. That’s right, there’s no more physical home button, but there will be a virtual one (tap to turn the phone on, swipe up for the home screen and down for the control centre), so don’t panic just yet. This will be an interesting adjustment, as gone are the fingerprint sensors – so now you can pay with your face.

Speaking of Face ID – we’re still undecided on our feelings for this feature. Is it cool? Absolutely. Will it get annoying to hold your phone up to your face to unlock it? Maybe.

Headphone jack: Still not on either phone – sorry!

Colour: The iPhone X will only come in black and silver, where the iPhone 8 still comes in gold.

Specs

A11 bionic processor should lead to longer battery life on both phones

Screens: iPhone 8 has the same LCD screen as the 7, while the iPhone X has an OLED screen (what Samsung and LG are using). This allows for more vibrant colours and higher resolution (2,436 x 1,135 pixels).

Back cameras: The iPhone X is similar to the iPhone 8 Plus (dual 12MP cameras with an extra sensor as telephoto zoom lens)

Front cameras: The iPhone X has a new front-facing camera with Portrait Mode effect (hello, selfies!)

Size: physically, the iPhone X is the same size as the iPhone 8 (5.8 inches), but due to the maxed-out screen size, it looks bigger

Features: Both new iPhones are water resistant, and can be wirelessly charged (though Apple’s AirPower mat for wireless charging won’t come out until 2018)

iOS: Both phones come with iOS 11, which features a new control centre layout that you can customize and updated Siri, along with typical tweaks like more vibrant colours and transitions

Availability

The iPhone X starts shipping November 3, and the iPhone 8 starts shipping September 22.

Price

iPhone X – starts at $999 US (for 64GB)

iPhone 8 – $699 US (for 64GB)

One thing many people have noticed is that Apple has gone from the iPhone 8 to the iPhone X. No iPhone 9. Curious…

Have you been to a house built in the 1970’s and noticed that weird speaker system in various rooms? Intercoms were very popular in this era, allowing parents to tell their kids when dinner was ready without yelling across the house.

It seems that now, texting and instant messaging have taken over that role, but it’s possible that intercoms are coming back in a new, modern form.

Amazon just introduced an intercom feature on their Echo devices, allowing you to converse across rooms. It uses a teleconferencing software called Drop-In, and will work with your connected devices once set up on the Alexa app.

All you need to do is name the devices (ie. “Kitchen,” “Bedroom,” “Den”). Then you can activate the intercom simply by instructing Alexa to call that room. The intercom also works from the Alexa tablet and smartphone apps – so you can place calls to the Kitchen straight from your phone.

We can see it now – you’re on your way home from school and starving. You open the app and say, “Hey Alexa, call the Kitchen,” and it would probably immediately be followed by, “Hey mom, what’s for dinner?” Whether your mom will like this feature or not is to be determined.

An interesting feature with the intercom is that it doesn’t work on Wi-Fi – meaning you can connect devices that are in different locations. Now, this is something your mom probably would like – especially if you’re away at school and you bring an Echo device to your dorm.

We know technology has grown exponentially over the past 20 years in ways that make our lives fun and efficient, but it has also made life easier and safer for some. Here are three tech advances in 2017 that are really changing lives:

1. Smart watches for blind people
Think about the last time you had trouble finding where you were going. Now imagine being disoriented again, only this time you’re blind. Sometimes we take things like vision for granted, and Sunu is changing things. Fernando Albertorio is co-founder of this company, and legally blind. He recognized a need for a product that could help him navigate without bumping into objects, and created a wristband that emits ultrasound waves and uses varying levels of vibrations to let him know how close objects are. Not only is this product practical for the blind or visually impaired, but it increases their confidence and way of living. Albertorio even ran a 5K race wearing it.Price: $299Availability: Starting August 2017

2. Self-driving wheelchairs
You’ve heard of self-driving cars – so it’s only logical that self-driving wheelchairs would be just as possible. A Canadian research team has claimed to develop technology that would allow wheelchairs to drive themselves. The idea has presented itself before, however, the price for one of these was in the range of $30,000 – not exactly affordable. Toronto’s Cyberworks Robotics and the University of Toronto say they can create one for a cost of $300-$700. Self-driving wheelchairs would assist those who have low mobility in their upper body and may not be able – or find it difficult – to use joysticks and similar features on current motorized vehicles. While still a work in progress, it’s a good move towards improving the quality of life for those confined to wheelchairs.Price: TBDAvailability: In development

3. A device to prevent sexual assault
Sexual assault cases are constantly in the news, and MIT researchers wanted to develop a way to help detect it and prevent it. Too many times on campus, students are intoxicated and end up in situations where their judgment isn’t clear. The Intrepid Smart Sticker was created with the idea that it can be fastened to the inside of your clothing and sync to your phone. The sticker recognizes when clothes are being removed, and sends a notification to the wearer’s phone asking for consent. If a response isn’t received, the phone will start buzzing loudly, and if a response is still not received, the identified contacts in the user’s “safety circle” will be notified and receive their location and a phone call. The app will also start recording the phone call and any other noises. Based on input from assault survivors, volunteers, and users, the Intrepid team believes this device could really help cut down the number of assault cases.Price: TBDAvailability: In development

Years ago, when blogging first started, blogs were just glorified journals, and the main goal wasn’t to make it a profession or make money. However, blogging has evolved to a completely new level over the years. Whether you chronicle your travels, report on the issues in your industry or share your latest fashion finds with the world, blogging can be a nice way to build your brand, or even just a line to add on your resume that can help you land a job.

But, when is the right time to start? Especially when starting university, it can be an amazing way to earn some extra cash, as well as improve your written communication, analysis and interpretation skills.

What can I do with blogging?
Running a blog gives you an amazing opportunity to help others by teaching them what you know or sharing your thoughts with the world. By helping others with your advice, you will gain a confidence boost, especially if you’ve just started college. You can pick a topic you want to be recognized as an expert in, and start doing your research! With consistency and effort, your knowledge will expand and it becomes an incredibly effective way for you to become credible and establish yourself as an expert. You can also learn a few more valuable things – blogging isn’t just about writing, it also includes content, layout, design, etc. Starting a blog is easy and doesn’t take much technical skill at all. However, if you’re dedicated, there is always room for improvement.

How do I start a blog?
While studying and working may be difficult and time-consuming, a great way to earn some money is with blogging. If you’re studying, that means there must be something you know a lot about. The best kind of blogs are the ones that reach out to people and teach them to explore new ideas. Here is a list of things you need to do if you want to start a blog:

Pick a topic
Whether it be healthcare, travelling, food, or reviews – whatever topic that comes to mind that you can talk about day and night, that’s the subject for your blog. Be careful not to start a blog without a clear idea of what to write about, because you’ll bore yourself to death or run out of ideas quickly.

It’s not all about writing
There’s some designing, too. You can add visual and artistic elements to your blog that will make it look more appealing and interesting to your readers. Photography, photocopied notes, artwork, sketches and mind maps are all good ways of presenting your thoughts without having to write long paragraphs of text.

Consistency
If you want your blog to become successful, you have to be consistent. That means your content and style of writing should remain the same, as well as your publishing time. You can’t just write one post a month and expect people to read it over and over again. The more familiar and consistent your content is, the more likely will people return to your blog.

How do I make my blog popular?
Although there are many ways in which you can invest your time and effort into creating a good blog on a budget, you’ll have to consider investing in it as well, if you take blogging seriously. If this is something you really want to do, you should be prepared to treat it like your business and make financial investments in it.

The key to the success of your blog may also be search engine optimization – get to know this marketing strategy and try to understand how to be closer to your readers. Writing a blog also requires you to keep up with the trends: you can follow and read what SEO experts have to say on the matter, learn how to optimize your blog, how to use social networks in order to promote your content, and even cooperate with other more influential writers.

Last but not least, don’t forget to have fun while doing it. Blogging will never be honest if you’re doing it just because you want to make more money. After all, if you make it look like a “job” or a “chore”, you won’t enjoy it, and neither will your readers. Blogging can be great way to turn your hobby into an extra income to help you finance your degree!